Review of Harold and Maude (1971) by Johnnylee T — 21 May 2016

Harold and Maude is one of the most peculiar films I've ever sat through and its jet-black comedy will definitely not sit right with most viewers; but I enjoyed it quite a bit and there's not too many films I've seen like it.

The film centers on a unique relationship between a young teen, Harold, who's obsessed with death and an elderly woman, Maude, who is overjoyed with life. They are brought together by their mutual affection for funerals where Harold wallows in the grief and Maude lightens the mood.

The two then become inseparable as they bring out the best in one another and go on a myriad of insane adventures with Maude truly being one of the most unpredictable characters I've ever seen, literally stealing cars at a whim and disregarding every law in the book.

The film's style can only be described as Wes Anderson meets the Addams Family, and this film has inspired many filmmakers today to produce off-beat and quirky cinema. One of the more hilarious aspects of the film is Harold's constant torturing of his mother and the girls she tries to set him up with where he performs fake, but realistic-looking suicides, that really layer the film's creativity and they always made me laugh.

As the film goes along, Harold and Maude's relationship grows more romantic as they are the only two people who understand one another and this is obviously the film's most controversial area.

I went into this film with an open-mind, much like I did with the film, Her, and I applaud this movie for taking such a mature look at sexuality, regardless of the age-gap, and while it is pretty wrong for an 80 year-old woman to be having intercourse with a 16 year-old kid, the psychology between them makes it more than believable.

This is a very special film that digs deep into the psyche of the two main characters and as we learn more about their pasts, we become deeply attached to both with Harold's, wiser-than-his-years maturity, and Maude's larger-than-life spunk.

It's a challenging film that can be analyzed to no end, and it's a film I will never forget due to the incredible writing, emotional connection, and fantastic, upbeat soundtrack!